Apartments that replaced Wild Rivers to open

Los Olivos Apartment Village, which has more than 1,700 units, will be Orange County's largest apartment complex. The complex is in Irvine at the former site of Wild Rivers water park and was developed by the Irvine Co.

Grand opening

Where: Corner of Irvine Center Drive and the I-405. From the 405 south exit Irvine Center Drive and turn right. Make another right at Antivo and turn right, again, on Gitano.

What: It's the first opportunity for the public to see the first finished phase of the Irvine Co.'s Los Olivos Apartment Village. There will be food, mariachi bands and a chance to win prizes (six months free rent, iPads, a stay at The Resort at Pelican Hill, an interior design consultation, a $500 Restoration Hardware gift card, and $250 Irvine Spectrum Center gift cards. Leasing starts Sunday and apartments are available to move in Monday.

By the numbers

1,750 – number of apartments total once finished.

$1,650-$2,950 – estimated monthly rental rate.

525-1,207 – estimated apartment size by square feet.

2014 – year the village is expected to be finished.

8 – parks.

6 – saltwater pools.

4 – fitness centers.

2 – tennis courts.

1 – basketball court.

The literal wild life of the Lion Country Safari are long gone as are the water-logged masses who frequented the Wild Rivers Waterpark, but in their place eventually six salt water pools and acres of open lawn for a more domestic breed of animal to run wild.

Los Olivos, the newest apartment community from the Irvine Co., will also be within walking distance to the Irvine Spectrum Center once a path is built to connect it, and it counts the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater as a neighbor until that venue's lease is up in 2017. Los Olivos will expand to that patch of grass, too.

The Irvine Co.'s latest apartment development will also be the county's largest with 1,750 units. Leasing for one-bedroom flats, two-bedroom apartments and two bedroom townhomes (with attached two-car garages) starts Sunday with the monthly rates starting at $1,650 and rising to about $2,950. Each unit will have its own price based on the size, view, finishes inside and other amenities.

"We have something for every wallet, so to speak," said Kevin Baldridge, president of the company's apartment communities division.

Those rates aren't out of the realm of possibility in Orange County's rental market where the properties built in the last 10 years command about $2,000 a month on average, said Greg Willett, vice president of research for MPF Research which focuses on apartment market data.

About 95.5 percent of the county's apartments are leased, just a half a percentage point away from the normal occupancy rate, but the opening of Los Olivos might slow the overall demand for more new apartments in the county.

It also comes not long after the Irvine Co. debuted Cypress Village with 1,677 units. Construction started on that apartment community in late 2011, and so far it's about 72 percent leased. It features similar layouts and styles that Los Olivos does, but the difference will be in the diversity, company officials say.

Where Cypress Village has distinct neighborhoods, Los Olivos is more open with a large main street lined with palm trees through the middle connecting flats and one-bedroom apartments on one side and townhomes on the other where residents of any of the five types of apartments available can commingle at an on-site market, one of three clubhouses or fitness rooms.

Cypress Village is also expected to be $100 to $150 cheaper per month.

"The Irvine Co. is really the only company in the country that does these giant communities, and it's because they've got the land," Willett said.

Los Olivos Apartment Village, which has more than 1,700 units, will be Orange County's largest apartment complex. The complex is in Irvine at the former site of Wild Rivers water park and was developed by the Irvine Co.

MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The townhomes at Los Olivos Apartment Village are for rent only, and vary in price point based on factors such as location, view, and the quality of appliances and decor. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The townhomes at Los Olivos feature bedrooms on both the first and second floors in order to accommodate those who cannot use stairs, and also to augment the level of privacy for individual residents. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The first phase of the Los Olivos Apartment Village will be opened on March 2nd, with units available for rent at $1,650 to $2,950 per month. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
There is no wall between the living room and the kitchen in the townhomes at Los Olivos in order to create a larger, and more open living space. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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